All About Campaigns - Your Questions Answered
In this article, we’ll discuss where your campaigns are located, how to easily make backups of your campaigns, basic do’s and don’ts, and some basic troubleshooting should a problem arise.
NOTE: This article assumes that at least one campaign already exists in My Campaigns.
To learn how to create a campaign, please see:
Hosting a Game: Loading and Creating Campaigns
Locating Campaigns
Where Are My Campaigns?
Campaigns are located in their own folder in the Data directory that you assigned when installing and setting up Fantasy Grounds VTT.
The Data directory is where all created, downloaded and saved data is stored.
You can easily find your /campaigns folder by clicking on the Hamburger Menu in the upper-right corner of the Fantasy Grounds VTT main screen, then clicking Data Folder.
Data Directory - Default File Path Locations
Windows 10/11
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\SmiteWorks\Fantasy Grounds\
macOS
/Users/[username]/SmiteWorks/Fantasy Grounds/
Linux
/home/[username]/.smiteworks/fgdata/
Note: .smiteworks is a hidden directory denoted by the . at the beginning of the folder name.
If you choose to change your Data directory after Fantasy Grounds is installed, we recommend backing up campaigns and extensions from the data directory, uninstalling Fantasy Grounds, then reinstalling with the new Data directory location you prefer and copying your campaigns and extensions into the new location. Backing up campaign data is covered below.
Can I Set My Data Directory in Dropbox / Box / iCloud / Google Cloud / SkyDrive / NAS?
In short, no. We strongly recommend not using remote file syncing and storing solutions as the default Data directory for your campaigns or any other Fantasy Grounds data. We have found that even the slightest internet hiccups, stalls, or disconnections can cause catastrophic and often unrecoverable file corruption in campaign files.
We recommend creating a backup of your campaigns (either manually or automated) to a second location, then syncing or moving the backup to the Cloud or NAS for offsite backup storage.
Backing Up Campaigns
Backing Up A Single Campaign
To back up an individual campaign, click on the expansion menu button to the right of the campaign name you wish to back up, then click the “Compress to zip…” button.
This will create a single, compressed .zip file of everything in that campaign, including custom images, previous sessions files, chatlogs, windows states, and more. It is a complete backup of the entire campaign folder for that specific campaign.
Once it has finished zipping the campaign folder, a file manager window should open to show the zip file in the same folder as the rest of your campaigns. We recommend not leaving the backup zip file in the same Data folder as the original campaign folder in case something happens to the entire Data folder path. Perhaps manually move it to a USB drive, cloud folder, or similar.
Backing Up All Campaigns At Once
The fastest and easiest way to make a backup of the campaigns folder is to simply copy the folder and paste it elsewhere. This will make an exact copy of the folder and all subfolders and files inside it. We recommend not creating the backup in the same Data folder as the original campaign folder in case something happens to the entire Data folder path.
We’ve also created a help article to assist in creating a ZIP file of your campaign(s) should you need to send them to the SmiteWorks Support Team. You can also use this guide to create ZIP files to be stored elsewhere outside of the Fantasy Grounds chosen Data directory.
Link: How to ZIP Your Campaign for Support / Developers
Copying Campaigns
Can I Clone Or Make A Duplicate Of A Campaign?
Yes. Click on the arrow to the far-right of the campaign you wish to duplicate. From the pop-out menu, select Copy.
You should then see both the original campaign and the copy. The duplicate will have the word (Copy) appended to the end of the campaign’s title on the listing.
Can I Copy My Campaign Data From One Computer To Another If They Both Have FGVTT?
Yes. You can move campaign data from one computer running FGVTT to another running FGVTT and they should load up identically, no matter which machine you are on.
To be clear, any changes made in the campaign will only be saved to that campaign data on that specific machine and you will need to copy the updates back to the other machine manually.
The process is virtually identical to the How Do I Make A Backup Of My Campaign? process above, except you’ll paste the campaign data into the matching directory on the second machine.
You’ll want to have the same modules, art packs, etc. loaded and open on each FGVTT installation and all updates competed. This way, each machine is a close to the other as possible, which should reduce issues you may experience when loading the campaign data.
Can I Copy Campaign Data From a Computer Running Windows to One Running macOS or Linux, and Vice-Versa?
Yes. Campaign files are generally XML and LUA files, and perhaps images if they were used in the campaign. These are universally loaded and interpreted in Fantasy Grounds VTT across all platforms.
Renaming Campaigns
How Do I Rename A Campaign?
Click on the arrow to the far-right of the campaign you wish to rename. From the pop-out menu, select Rename.
You will then be prompted with a text field. Type in the new name of the campaign, and hit Enter on your keyboard.
Deleting Campaigns
How Do I Delete A Campaign I No Longer Want?
First, as always, make a backup of your /campaigns folder to make sure a campaign isn’t accidentally deleted. You can read more about that here:
https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/edit-v2/2045181969#How-Do-I-Make-A-Backup-Of-My-Campaign%3F
Click on the arrow to the far-right of the campaign you wish to delete. From the pop-out menu, select Delete.
You will be prompted to confirm the campaign deletion. Clicking the Delete button will delete the campaign completely. Clicking Cancel will leave the campaign intact and unchanged.
Can I Delete Campaign From Outside Fantasy Grounds VTT?
Yes. You can go into your /campaigns folder location in the link above:
https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/edit-v2/2045181969#Where-Are-My-Campaigns%3F
Once inside your /campaigns folder, you can either move a directory to the trash, or delete it completely. The next time you restart Fantasy Grounds VTT, the campaign will no longer be in the Load Campaign list.
If I Delete Campaigns, Will “Check For Updates” Download And Restore Them?
No. Campaigns ONLY reside on your local hard drive and are not stored on SmiteWorks servers or in the Cloud. They will not be downloaded or restored by clicking Check For Updates from the main Fantasy Grounds window or by clicking Update from Settings / Updater.
NOTE: The one exception to this rule is the Tutorial 5E Campaign, which is considered more of a tutorial campaign for Fantasy Grounds VTT and less of a user campaign. This campaign is included with Fantasy Grounds VTT by default and will always download when updated.
We recommend periodically making backups of your campaign folder(s) from time to time to ensure you have a reliable backup should something happen (such as file corruption, a power loss while files are open, virus activity, etc.)
Can I Migrate A Campaign from Fantasy Grounds Classic to Fantasy Grounds VTT?
Yes! We have created a help article specifically about that process location here:
Link: Migrating a Campaign from FGC to FGVTT
Note: Campaigns cannot be migrated from Fantasy Grounds VTT (FGVTT) to Fantasy Grounds Classic (FGC). It is a one-way upgrade process from FGC to FGVTT only.
You can read more about Fantasy Grounds Classic in the following article:
Fantasy Grounds Classic Archive and F.A.Q.
How Do I Restore A Campaign To A Previous Save?
Please see the instructions in the following Troubleshooting Guide:
Link: Restore Campaign to an Earlier Save